According to this post on the Daily Exchange, a magazine for business/economic development/entrepreneurs, it seems that the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has taken a page right out of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa's (SFUO) play book:
A referendum on continued membership in the CFS is taking place at the University of Guelph (Central Student Association or CSA) this week (April 7th-9th) for its undergraduate students. Here's a snippet of the post linked from the Daily Exchange:
Sound familiar...? This is exactly why I follow other University/College student newspapers. If I read how another student association's elections failed miserably with an online voting system and then the SFUO decided that it was going use a similar system in its upcoming elections, I would head straight to the SFUO office, present them with that particular article pertaining to the problems another student association had with "e-voting" and ask them if they're still confident that using an electronic vote was a safe, legitimate way to run its elections.The referendum will be held April 7 to 9, WITH VOTING TAKING PLACE ONLINE. (...) STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL NEXT WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION DATE DIRECTING THEM TO A SECURE VOTING WEBSITE. (Obviously emphasis added)
If you visit the Central Student Association's (CSA) website, it is quite clear that the executive has taken a very strong stance of being IN FAVOUR OF DEFEDERATION (and no, I don't care if it's not a word; you get the point). I don't think that I've ever come across another referendum where a student association was actually strongly anti-CFS in all the literature that I have read on this subject. Of course, I couldn't resist linking this pretty funny post from the Campus Conservative Watch which is a blog that responds directly to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Campus Association blog entitled (obviously) CFS Watch (Sorry for being unclear: Campus Conservative Watch was created BEFORE CFS Watch) That is all.
Actually, the CCW came before CFS Watch.
ReplyDeleteHey Brandon,
ReplyDeleteA couple of corrections:
There have been quite a few student union referendums where the student union has been strongly anti-CFS. Not as many were as ardent as the current one though, Also, the motion at the CSA board wasn't unanimous... there were pro- and anti-CFS members as well as those who thought the student association shouldn't take a stance regardless...
Also, timeline-wise, I believe that the CFS Watch was actually set up almost half a year after the CampusConservativeWatch.
I appologize for the confusion caused by my wording! Yes CCW did come before CFS Watch!
ReplyDelete